The Labyrinth

It’s Sunday, May 8th. Mother’s Day. But my children are not out here on tour with me and so I decided to go out alone and explore my host city of Kamloops, British Columbia.

I was told to walk the path by the river and there I would find the labyrinth. It was suggested that the labyrinth is quite special. And so I walked the quiet trail, snapping pictures of goslings to text to my youngest and a picture of the water running high in the Thompson River.

I stood beneath the Red Bridge and was taken

with the beauty of its wooden trusses

–their age and their strength.

But then I came across the labyrinth, a pattern of simple interlocking bricks weaving a circular design on the ground. Still, the plaque told me that “Profound insights and understanding often come upon those who walk slowly with patience and trust.” What did I have to lose?

I walked into the labyrinth and followed the first curve. I was going to be taken right around the circle and this was going to take some time. At the second turn, I realized that there were going to be many more turns before this journey was done. I had to be getting back but by now I was committed. Nothing would make me stray from the path and walk across the lines of the labyrinth. I would have to see it through.

As I rounded another bend, a boy arrived on his bike. He was about my daughter’s age and I wondered if she’d received my text pictures. His mother called something to him but I didn’t hear her words. They rode on and a calm came over me, a confidence that taking this journey alone was okay. After a final turn, I came to the centre. I was meant to pause in quiet “to feel and reflect.” But I had also been told to clap my hands and so I brought my palms together. The immediate echo bounced back in a strange peep. I did it again and then turned to look for my children, already saying, “Hey, listen to this!” But they weren’t there.

In that moment, I knew that a part of everything I do, even on my own and for myself, has been done with my children in my mind. And I’m sure it always will be.

I started my journey back out of the circle feeling somehow more alone and yet less alone at the same time. Yes, the labyrinth was quite special to me.